Position: Forward
Birthdate: 8/3/1997
Hometown: Freetown, Sierra Leone
Previous Club: LA Galaxy
National Team: Sierra Leone
Height: 6-2
Augustine “Augi” Williams enters his second season with the Black and Yellow in 2023.
The Battery No. 9 had a banner year in 2022, regularly displaying the danger he poses in the air and with his feet, which culminated in him being named All-League Second Team.
Augi led Charleston’s offense with his most prolific scoring mark, bagging a career-high 16 goals across 32 matches. Williams also registered three assists, 21 chances created and 116 duels won during the campaign.
Williams’ 16 tallies were the most regular season goals by a Battery player in the club’s USL Championship era and ranked him tied for fifth-most goals in the league this season. He was the team’s first double-digit goalscorer since 2018.
The striker initially arrived in the Lowcountry after playing for San Diego Loyal SC in 2021, on loan from LA Galaxy. Williams totaled six goals, three assists and 10 chances created in 13 games with San Diego.
On the international stage, Williams debuted with the Leone Stars on June 15, 2021, during AFCON qualification against Benin, where he helped the side qualify for the tournament for the first time in 26 years. The forward was again called up to Sierra Leone’s squad for AFCON in January. Williams has made six total appearances for Sierra Leone through December 2022.
Williams burst onto the scene in 2020 at LA Galaxy II with a campaign that earned him All-League First Team honors. He finished second in the league’s Golden Boot race with 13 goals for Los Dos. He played a crucial role in earning his side a spot in the Playoffs and was named the squad’s player of the year.
Prior to Los Angeles, Williams signed his first professional contract with Portland Timbers 2 in 2016 where he scored 11 goals across all competitions from 2016 to 2018. He made his Portland Timbers debut in the U.S. Open Cup against the Seattle Sounders in 2017, scoring their lone goal in the match.
Augi achieved numerous personal milestones during the 2022 season. Williams reached 50 goals in the USL Championship regular season when he scored against New York Red Bulls II on August 12. He became the second-youngest player (25 years and nine days old) in league history to accomplish the feat. Augi appeared in his 150th regular season league match on July 22 against Colorado Springs and eclipsed 10,000 minutes played in the league’s regular season on July 30 against Sacramento.
Williams is a native of Freetown, Sierra Leone, and grew up in the Bay Area in California.
